TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese spies reportedly offered an Army lieutenant colonel US$15 million (NT$480 million) to defect to China on the condition he did so on a large military helicopter, prompting Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) to vow to bring any such traitors to justice.
The Taiwan High Prosecutor's Office in August arrested a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) on suspicion of being recruited by Chinese operatives to defect to China via helicopter, reported Liberty Times. He reportedly planned to land on a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship when it approached the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
After completing his defection, he was to receive US$15 million in remuneration. However, prosecutors arrested Hsieh before he could implement the plan.
On Monday (Dec. 11), CT Want reported that a Chinese spy group headed by retired military officer Chen Yu-hsin (陳裕炘) recruited an active Army helicopter pilot surnamed Hsieh, bought air tickets, and invited the pilot to Bangkok, Thailand. Once in Thailand, Hsieh reportedly met with a man surnamed Wang (王), who claimed to be a PLA senior general, and a man surnamed Wu (吳), who said he was a Guangzhou Military Region commander.
Chen, Wang, and Wu allegedly promised Hseih that they would help his wife and children obtain Thai Elite Visas. They claimed that once war broke out in the Taiwan Strait, Hsieh's family would be given priority to evacuate Taiwan as Thai overseas Chinese and would be given a monthly salary of about 200,000 Chinese yuan (US$27,000).
To defect, he had been instructed that when People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft conducting exercises neared Taiwan's contiguous zone, he was to fly a Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter at low altitude along the coastline. It was estimated that it would only take him about five minutes to land on a PLAN vessel.
Once it was confirmed that Hsieh had agreed to carry out the mission, the PLA was to pay him a "deposit" of US$1 million to US$2 million upfront. However, Hsieh considered the risk too high and did not agree with the plan.
According to prosecutors, Hsieh was nevertheless tempted by the proposal and requested the location of the PLA military exercises. If it was beyond the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone off Kaohsiung, he estimated it would take 15 minutes to fly to the PLAN vessel. Even though it would take longer, he could avoid crossing the median line and prevent interception by Taiwanese fighter jets.
The two sides entered into discussions on the details of the operation, but law enforcement officials received intelligence in advance and arrested Hsieh and collaborators before it could be carried out.
When asked by reporters to comment on the scheme on Monday, Chiu said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken various actions against Taiwan's military and tried to influence personnel within its ranks. Indeed, it has had a significant impact, and Chiu said that in response to such plots, the military has strengthened its security in recent years.
According to Chiu, once the military proactively detects any issues, the matter is promptly referred to legal authorities for prosecution. For cases that are not transferred for legal action, the military will concurrently implement damage control measures.
In addition, the military will collaborate with investigative agencies, providing them with relevant information, said Chiu. Chiu emphasized that as long as there are similar cases, the military will have no concealment or failure to report.
